


Mother knows best

by Destinee Zara (LadyDestineeZara)



Series: Keith Week 2k16 [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: All characters (except Pidge) are 18+ unless told otherwise, Because that is fun, Gen, M/M, Mama Red, Mentions of Sheith, Mom knows best, The lions have personalities, VERY SLIGHT MENTIONS OF SHEITH
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-28
Updated: 2016-09-28
Packaged: 2018-08-18 07:30:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8153960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyDestineeZara/pseuds/Destinee%20Zara
Summary: Red considered herself a good mother.She knew how to deal with unruled cubs.She also knew how to give them space to come to her with their problems.Most of all, she loves her newest cub, Keith.(Written for the second day of the Keith Week hosted by keith-week.tumblr.com, theme "Red Lion")





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there!
> 
> Welcome to the second day of the Keith Week hosted by keith-week.tumblr.com, theme "Red Lion"!
> 
> THIS STORY IS UNEDITED! So, pardon any English mistakes (let me know if you find any). Also, Engrishi is not my first language, so forgive my mistakes if I don’t Engrishi well.
> 
> I don't know if I'll do all the seven days, but I'll try my best!
> 
> Just one little note before you start reading:  
> \- [Text after dashes] = TALKING (A Romance Language custom, I guess)  
>  _text in italic_ = THE LIONS TALKING
> 
> Now, to the story!

Red liked to think of herself as a good mother to her cubs.

The other Lions of Voltron liked to pick the good cubs, the ones that already were balanced somehow: calm, open, gentle and content. Red couldn’t blame them for doing so. Those cubs were easy to love and easy to prepare to fight and flight.

Red preferred to take only the fine and best lionhearts, and although those were the best fighters already, they usually were not the easiest cubs to love. But she never minded that.

Those were always the cubs that needed her the most.

So she would took them. The misfit and troublemakers, with all their confusion, anger, fear and self-loathing. Red would love them, sometimes toughly, sometimes gently, but always trying to give what they needed to grow. She was always there differently from some who preferred to give the cubs mostly silence. And the Red Lion prided herself of taking the ruthless outcasts and helping they become heroes and heroines. They always started barking orders, trying to make her bow to their commands, and end up treating her even closer than family (many would enter her cockpit just to tell about their day, some would even call her “mom”, which was really amusing to her).

Her youngest cub, Keith, was not the most difficult case Red had ever had to deal with. He was impulsive like many other before him were, but he knew his own limitations and his own strengths, making him a great pilot and great warrior (and making mom Red proud).

It was his personal life that was messed up.

Under his carefully crafted blank expression, he was really shy and lonely. He didn’t seemed to know about how to interact with his own human fellows sometimes, always afraid of saying too much or saying too little, preferring the company of the training bot. He would keep his problems and worries to himself, trying to fit some high standards that he thought he should be just to stay in the Voltron formation.

Red couldn’t have that.

Time to work then!

The first thing was to broke the shell so she could get in.

 _Great job_! – she would say to him whenever he did good in a fight.

Keith eyes would get wide and he would look lost for a moment before feeling content.

\- Thanks, kitten.

Although Red considered that praise tactic to be a low blow, she was not above playing dirty to make her cubs feel loved.

_You are the best fighter I’ve ever seen._

_Great call on that blow, Keith! You are so smart!_

_The others are lucky to have you on their side._

She was very pleased to see that he was getting more comfortable with her praise, was even craving it. Red knew from previous experiences that giving too much praises to a love-starved person was a dangerous territory. If she had malicious intents, it would be so easy to manipulate him into what she wanted him to be.

Red didn’t want that.

She wanted her beloved shy cub Keith to become more open, but still be himself.

So it was time to introduce the tough love.

_Why the fuck would you stay mad at your friend instead of talking to him!?_

_Keith stop fucking repressing your feelings! They won’t go away! That is not how feelings work!_

_FOR ALL THE GODS OF THE UNIVERSE, KEITH! YOU NEED TO HAVE A STRATEGY WITH YOUR TEAM BEFORE GOING TO A FIGHT!_

It really helped that she could feel his emotions when he was inside her cockpit. Red could feel that he was annoyed every time she brought that up, but he wasn’t angry with her. So she kept pushing his buttons, trying to make him open up to her.

(Obviously, she kept praising him too. She wanted to make him feel loved and cherished as well).

He would always leave right after every fight, trying to get away from her nagging. But it was ok.

Red would ALWAYS re-start as soon as he set his feet on the cockpit again.

Keith groaned in annoyance.

\- Just leave this be! I don’t need help!

_Then just TALK TO ME about what is making you sulk like a child!_

But he needed. He felt lonely in the middle of people who clearly loved him. At least, that was what Blue liked to gossip with her on their free time. Red never knew how, but Blue, that big blue gossipy, knew everything about everyone in the Castle.

According to Blue, Lance and Allura admired Keith for different reasons, Pidge adored him like an old brother, Hunk considered him one of his greatest friends, Coran was proud of him and Shiro just loved him (period).

So it was frustrating somehow to Red to see his cub not seeing that affection and enjoying it fully.

But she was old, and although It didn’t seemed like it, time had made her wise and patient.

Red kept doing what she was doing, waiting for Keith to go to her. Keeping showering him with praises and love, at the same time that she didn’t stop insisting to him to stop bottling up his feeling.

It was a normal day.

Blue had went to brag with her about her cute cub (also gossip about Yellow’s cub latest mess in the kitchen), Green stopped by for their daily complains about the others and Black had been there on their time for meditation.

(Only in spirit, of course. It was kinda impossible for the gigantic lions to walk around the Castle freely).

Red was just enjoying the quietness when her cub entered the cockpit.

She would raise her eyebrows if she could.

Keith was not dressed with his paladin armour and there was no emergency alarm, so it was not for a fight. Also, he seemed quite nervous.

Red let her conscience (the closest thing she had of an organic touch) massage his head.

 _What is it Keith?_ – she asked gently – _Is there an emergency_?

(She know that there wasn’t, but Red wanted to give him space to talk).

Keith sighed.

\- No. Everything is alright. I… I just…

_You just…?_

He took a deep breath.

\- I was thinking about asking Shiro to hang out in this planet nearby.

_Hang out as in…?_

He blushed.

\- A date, Red. I’m thinking about asking Shiro on a date.

_An specific date? Why isn’t any day just a good day to hang out?_

He was just as red as her or his jacket.

\- This is what we call when we hang out in a **romantic** way.

Red chuckled (which sounded a lot like a purr).

 _You young people and your slang_.

\- You are not that old. – he rolled his eyes good humoured.

_I’m a lot older than what you think. And although I appreciate that you are telling me this wonderful information, I’m really curious why, cub._

He blushed again. Red tried to massage his shoulders to let go of some of the tension.

\- I-I… - he swallowed – I don’t know how to ask him.

Keith looked up with apprehension.

\- Could you help?

Red couldn’t help feel extremely pleased.

_I thought you would never ask._

**Author's Note:**

> Making off of this story:
> 
> I'm late BUT I'M HERE!
> 
> It is late and I still have some work to finish, so let's be quick about this end notes.  
> This whole story is based on a headcanon of mine that the lions of Voltron can talk with their paladins and that Red, of them all, the the mama-lioness of the pride. I kinda imagine her like a soccer mom haha. A very supportive soccer mom, of course. 
> 
> This story was going to be longer and go to a very different path. For example, I was going to finish with Red saying to her human son that he and Shiro could fuck inside her cockpit anytime (to Keith's utter mortification). I ran out of time and I'm really tired, so this is what I got, I'm afraid.
> 
> And I will include something related to Sheith in EVERY SINGLE DAY OF THIS WEEK.  
> Keeping the focus to Keith, of course. 
> 
> Thank you for reading! I hope you have enjoyed it! Leave a kudo and a comment if you liked this story s2
> 
> I'm on tumblr if you want to find me! (I'm kinda awkward, but yeah...).  
> [@wonderland-s-angel](http://wonderland-s-angel.tumblr.com/). I swear that I don't bite, I'm just a dork with a pink blog.
> 
> Comments help me to get going, you know. Like, SERIOUSLY, they keep me going.
> 
> I hope I’ll see ya tomorrow =3
> 
> Bye-bye! o/


End file.
